Book Review: Sewing Tiny Toys - Creating Your Own Bean Bag and Plush Toys

I got the book Sewing Tiny Toys by Carolyn Vosburg Hall as a gift from a friend several years ago, but I never got a chance to put it to use until recently.

Overall, I'd say it's a pretty good book, although definitely for someone with at least medium sewing skills. What I like about the book is that the patterns are all full size, so you just need to trace them out or photocopy them at regular size. The instructions are somewhat complicated, but fortunately there are photographs next to every step to help you along. Still, even with the photographs, I was unable to figure out how to do certain steps on one of the patterns I tried, so I sort of made it up as I went along. There were also times when I didn't understand why the author chose the order of steps she did. For instance why did she have you wait until assembly and stuffing was complete before having you embroider the facial details? It seems like it would be easier to do that before stuffing, and even before completing assembly. Part of the reason I say these patterns require at least medium sewing skills is because there are a lot of pattern pieces for most of the stuffed toys in the book, assembly is a little bit complicated, and the size of the toys add an extra challenge because they are so small. I sewed both of the stuffed toys below completely by hand.

Now, on to the pictures! In honor of March, which supposedly comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, I give you the lion and the lamb stuffed toys from Sewing Tiny Toys! (I hope Caelan enjoys the lion!)

The lion stuffed toy. He's made out of felt, and has articulated legs made with button joints. He's sitting on this year's Caldecott Medal winner, The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.

The lamb stuffed toy. Not the best picture, but you can see it came out pretty cute. The sherpa fabric I used for the fleece was very stretchy, and unfortunately, I don't think this came out sturdy enough to be an actual toy because the stretchiness of the fabric made it shred as I sewed, so too much handling may make the seams come apart completely. Still, that's not the pattern's fault!

Overall, despite the challenges, I still think it's a pretty good book, and there are more cute patterns in it I want to try.